Social networking sites have indeed captured more than just a slice of social butterflies’ lives. One such website that enables these users to stay in touch with loved ones is now being made accessible on all mobile phones. Gemalto introduces Facebook for SIM which allows any handset owner to access the website without data subscription or data connection.
Through this new innovative initiative, social network enthusiasts can communicate with friends and family through any type of handset. The company’s software development team reveals that the software application is infused in the SIM and is compliant with all SIM- compatible mobile devices.
“Increasingly people want to be able to stay connected and communicate with their friends on Facebook anytime, anywhere,” revealed Henri Moissinac, Head of Mobile Business, Facebook. “Gemalto has developed a creative solution in Facebook for SIM that enables people without mobile data plans to stay connected to their friends on Facebook in an affordable way.”
“Facebook for SIM enables operators to leverage two of their main assets: the SMS to communicate with the web application and the SIM for application distribution to the masses,” explained Philippe Vallée, Executive Vice President, Gemalto. “Over 200 million people already use Facebook on handsets and those are twice as active as non-mobile users. By providing anytime, anywhere availability to the social network, Gemalto delivers on the growing demand for mobile connectivity all over the world.”
Via the newly introduced offering by Gemalto, owners can gain access to well-known Facebook features like status updates, messages, friend requests and wall posts. They can even sign up and log in through the SIM application. Handset users are also endowed with the ability to stay updated on minute posts and events with interactive Facebook messages that pop-up on the display screen. To broaden their friends circle on the social networking site, they can further search the SIM phonebook and send across requests to them.
This user-friendly software can be enjoyed without any application download or data contract as it runs on SMS technology. This allows even pay-monthly as well as prepaid customers to avail of the offering. There will initially be a limited free trial period after which the application works on a subscription model through an unlimited pass for a limited time-frame.